By Dansu Peter
COMRADE Adams Oshiomhole, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has told Senate President Bukola Saraki, that the only way he can avoid impeachment is if he resigns
The former Edo State Governor said the APC has resolved to explore every legal means to ensure that the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, is impeached and replaced with a loyal party member.
This was part of the decisions taken at a meeting between the National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, senators and members of the House of Representatives, in Abuja, on Tuesday.
The National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, promised legislators loyal to the party that the APC under his leadership would reward loyalty noting that the party’s reward system would be one that would ensure that those who stood with the party in trying times did not regret it.
In what some have interpreted to mean a promise to grant automatic tickets to lawmakers, Oshiomhole said the party stood to benefit from the experience of members of the legislature who had spent time on the job.
He said, “High turnover of legislators is not a value to be celebrated. What we should celebrate is experience which cannot be read in books, but can only be acquired on the job.
“I want to reassure you that we will do everything possible to change the old narrative of heavy turnover every four years and the politics of ‘you have done enough’ will change over time for the good of Nigeria and for the sustenance of democracy.”
While reiterating his earlier call for the impeachment of Saraki as Senate President, Oshiomhole told the legislators that it was an aberration to allow an individual who was a member of a minority party to preside over members of the party in the majority.
He said, “Democracy teaches us that the minority have the right to have their say but the majority must have their way.
“So, if we have 56 senators and they have 49 senators, I insist that 49 senators cannot preside over the affairs of a house in which the APC has 56 senators. And I ask them to tell us anywhere in the world where the minority rules over the majority.
“Often times, we take flights to Washington and other places to understudy the American presidential system of government.
“Once you lose the majority, without further ado, you step down. Let me restate that we cannot be subjected to minority rule in the Nigerian Senate and, therefore, whether it is convenient for Distinguished Senator Saraki or not, the truth is whether by morality or by law or by convention, Senator Saraki can only avoid impeachment by toeing the path of honour, step down so that the APC can take over the leadership of the House.
“I want to repeat, Sen. Saraki as President of the Senate will be lawfully and democratically impeached. It will not be illegally done. It will be done according to law and tradition.”
Oshiomhole accused a section of the media of pandering to the whims of the opposition in such a way that the APC was painted in a bad light.
According to him, the party will continue to insist that the right things are done and that no amount of blackmail can deter it.
He stressed that when Saraki was lawfully and democratically impeached, his lawyers would be free to go anywhere to contest the legality or otherwise of the action.
The party chairman reiterated that there was no longer a hiding place for the Senate President because according to him, “Saraki’s time is up.”
He noted that the abrupt manner in which the presiding officers of the National Assembly adjourned plenary indicated that they had placed their personal interests above those of the nation.
Oshiomhole said, “Let me assure all of us that the National Working Committee is making this promise publicly and we are doing you no favour. Legislation and the legislature require experience because nobody can give what he does not have. We see people like Senator McCain, when they speak American people listen.
Earlier, the Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan, asked the party leadership to reconsider its reward policy to give those who had shown fidelity to its course a true sense of belonging.
He said, “This has been a season of defection, reflection and sacrifices. Most of our colleagues here have sacrificed their friendship to remain where they are and to do exactly what the party wants.
“I am sure that this season is also a season of regrets because some of our people who left have already seen the real sign.”
He said he had reports that those who had left the party for another were not finding it easy where they had gone to and were already full of regrets.
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